Doorcheck



Dec. 1, 1931. H. MC1.. ARMISTEAD 1,834,671

DOORCHECK Filed Feb. 24, 1950 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 1, 1931 UNITEDv STATES PATENT OFFICE HUBERT MCL. ARMISTEAI); OF'SAN CISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 THE CONDOR COMPANY, F SAN FRAN CISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF N EVADA DOORCHECK Appliaanonmea February 24, 1930. serial NQ. 443,775.

The present invention relates to that class of door checks-inwhich the restricted circulation of a confined fluid serves as a yielding resistance to the closing of a` door, and coni' `5 stitutes an improvement on the devices disclosed in United States 1,704,217 and 1,736,175.

My invention is preferably embodied in a yielding resistance member comprising a cyl- 10 inder, a reciprocable'piston, and a confined circulating body of liquid said resistance member being positioned in the door frame or casing, and operatedbya separate presser member secured to the yd oor .and adapted to engage said pistonupon theclosing of. the door. Obviously, however, the positions lof the two members may be reversed. .The cylinder and piston assembly is so constructed that it can be mortised into the *door frame or the rear stile of the door,.as the case may be, and thus concealed from view.

The object of my invention in vgeneral is toprovidea simple and effective'device for checking the closing of a door without other- Patents Nos.

" wise aecting its'movement. More particularly my object is toprovide such a device which will retain its checking fluid without leakage for a long period of time, and which can be easily adjusted to provide a smooth and gradually increasing resistance to the closing ofthedoor with a sufficient relief of such resistance at the .end of the closing movement to insure the proper latching of the door. .l Y

Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from the following description which should be read with the understanding that the construction, form and arrangement of the several parts may be varied within the limits of the claims hereto appended without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in said claims.` i With this in view, the preferred embodiment of my invention will now be described fully with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein j Fig. .1 is a vertical central section of the device, the presser member being omitted. I

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section onV the line 2`2 of Fig. 1 showing in addition the presser member. o' Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are transverse sections taken on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of the initial relief' port taken on the line 7 7 vof Fig. 3.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a body or shell in which is formed a cylinder 2. A piston 8, operable in said cylinder, has a stem 4 which extendsforwardly and projects through the forward or o'uter end of the shell 1. In orderto prevent leakage around the stem 4, I provide suitable packing 5 interposed between a metallic ring 6 and a guide sleeve 7, the latter having considerable length and closely surrounding the vstem 4. A threaded ring or annular nut'Sretains the guide sleeve 7 1n position and com- Vpiston stem 4 normally projects as shown,

and is adapted to be engaged and forced inwardly when the door is closed by a presser member 13 secured to the rear edge of said door. o The presser member is preferably formed as shown with an offset end 14, and a recess 15 in one side, this shape permitting thermaximum length of stroke for the stem 4 and piston 3. It will be apparent, although such position is not shown in the drawings, that when the door is closed, the entire presser member 13 is housedwithin the sleeve 7, the stem 4 and piston 3 receding suiiiciently to render this possible. the device is entirely concealed when the door is 'closed'` and its only projecting parts when the door is open are the stem 4 and the presser member 13. l

A spring 16, Fig'. 1, forces the piston 3 outwardly when the door'is opened. In or- A der to provide the greatest possible length By this construction,

,2Q the passage 20. An adjustable needle valve the free passage 22, and is preferably threadfor said spring, the stem 4 is hollow, and one end portion of the spring rests within it. The other end of said spring surrounds a fixed stud 17, and is guided thereby to prevent buckling.

A reservoir 18 is formed in the shell 1, preferably above and in alignment with the cylinder 2. A screw plug 19 permanently closes the outer end of said reservoir. At the inner or rear end of the shell, a passage 2O connects the cylinder 2 with the reservoir 18. A check valve 21, mounted in the base of the stud 17, closes the passage 2O to fluid flow from the cylinder 3 to the reservoir 18, but

permits free flow in the opposite direction.

The forward end of the cylinder 2 is connected with the reservoir 18 by a free passage 22.` The rear end of the cylinder-is provided with a port 23 having a connection 24 with 25 controls the flow of fluid through said passage 24. The valve 25 comprisesan elongated stem extending inwardly and operable from the outer end of the shell. It extends through ed intothe body of the shelll on both sides of said passage, as shown at 26. By this construction, any fluid which leaks along the threads of the stem returns to the cylinder through the passage 22, and is not forced out to the outer end of the stem.

The needle` valve 25 is the principal adjusting or controlling. valve of the device. I/Vhen the piston 3 is moved inwardly, i. e. toward the right in Fig. 1, by the closing of the door, the fluid, which is assumed to fill the cylinderV 2 and the greater part-of the reservoir `18, is compressed between the piston and the check valve 21. An outlet for said fluid is provided by the port 23 and valve controlled passage 24. Therefore, by adjusting the valve 25, the amount Yof resistance offered to the closing of the door by the trapped fluid in the cylinder 2 can be regulated. Y

, I prefer tov use a liquid for the checking `fluid. The checking action therefore begins immediately upon the inward movement of the piston 3, or in other words, as soon as the presser member 13 strikes the end of the stem 4,-upon the closing of the door. In order to provide a gradual increase of the-checking eifect, and to prevent undue strain on the door and its hinges by too sudden application ofsaid checking effect, I provide an initial relief port v27 in the wall of the cylinder 2, at apoint about midway between its ends. A passage 28 connects said port with the passage 20, and a needle valve 29, similar in construction to the valve 25, controls said passage. Therefore, when the piston begins to move inwardly,the liquid can ilowthrough ,both ports 23 and 27 until the latter is Acovered by the piston. The initial checkingaction 1s therefore relieved and can be reguat the end of the stroke of the lated by adjusting the valve 29. I also provide a tapering groove 30, Figs. 3 and 7, in the wall of the cylinder extending rearwardly from the port 27 for a short distance. This groove 30 has its deepest portion at said port, and gradually decreases in depth until it disappears. The effect of said groove is a gradual closing of the port 27 by the piston 3, so that the increase in checking action between the initial and subsequent vperiods of piston movement is gradual rat-her than sudden.

The cylinder 2 has a third port 31, Figs. 2 and 4, some distance forward of the port 23 and connected therewith by a passage 32. A needle valve 33, similar to the valves 25 and 29, controls said passage 32. The distance between the ports 31 and 23 is slightly greater thanthe length of the piston 3, so that when and the port 31 into the forward end of the cylinder, thus relieving the checking action piston. This relief, which is cont-rolled by the adjustable needle valve 33, isintended to allow the door" sufficient freedom of action at the end of its -closing movement to .insure its latching.

lcylinder 2 will be full at all times. The reservoir-also forms a conduitY through which the liquid flows inpassing from one end to the other of the cylinder 2. At the upper forward end of said reservoir there is provided an extension chamber 34 through which the liquid may be introduced. The shell 1 is preferably secured by screws 35 and 36 to a. face plate` 37 which may, if desired, be one of the plates of the door hinge. An aperture 38isprovided in said plate to permit access to the adjustable needle valves 25, 29 and 33. The upper screw 36 forms a closing plug for the liquid ysupply chamber 34, and is proiilling chamber 34. A vent 40 is provided in the wall dividing said chamber from the reservoir in order to permit escape of air during the lillingoperation. The spout of the filling can is inserted beyond said vent .40 so that the air may escape through said vent and around said spout Without obstructing the downward flow of the liquid from the end of said spout.

It is to be noted that there is practically no chance for leakage of the checking fluid.

The rear end of the cylinder 2, in which the fluid is placed under pressure, has no outlets other than the ports and passages leading to the reservoir 18, nor are there any seams or joints in the rear end of said cylinder.

On account of the free passage,v 22 and the .y :vz.

' vent 39, there can be no appreciable pressure in the forward end of the cylinder, so that the packing 5 can easily prevent leakage around the piston stem t.v The vent 39, entering the chamber 34 at the top of the reservoir, is always well above the level of the liquid therein. If, due to overflling of the reservoir, there occurs any leakage of the liquid through the vent 39, it will at once appear on the face of the device, and will give warning of its occurrence. By extending the threaded portions of the needle valves 25, 29 and 33 through the free port 22, any leakage of liquid around said valves is prevented from reaching the face of the device.

The plurality of valve controlled relief ports in the cylinder enables the device to be adjusted easily to provide smooth and positive operation. In adjusting the device, the needle valve 25 is first adjusted to provide the desired normal closing speed of the door. The valve 29 is then adjusted to relieve the initial checking action so that the normal action is attained gradually and smoothly. The valve 33 is then adjusted to provide the necessary amount of relief at the end of the movement to insure proper and complete closing and latching of the door.

I claim:

1. A door check comprising a shell of greater height than width and adapted for insertion in a door frame, said shell having a cylinder, a reservoir in parallel superposed relation thereto, an unrestricted passage connecting the forward end portion of said cylinder with said reservoir, and a plurality of ports connecting other portions of said cylinder with said reservoir; needle valves Jfor controlling said ports, said valves being provided with stems extending from the front of said shell rearwardly between said cylinder and said reservoir and through said passage, and having threaded engagement with said shell on both sides of said passage; and a piston operable in said cylinder to circulate Huid through said ports, passage, and reservoir.

2. A door check comprising a shell of greater height than width and adapted for insertion in a door frame, said shell having a cylinder and a reservoir in parallel superposed relation and passages connecting the front and rear end portions of said cylinder with said reservoir, said cylinder having a plurality of ports progressively spaced from its rear end, two of said ports connecting directly with said rear passage and thence with said reservoir, and a third port connecting with one of the first ports; adjustable valves controlling said port connections; a check valve between said cylinder and said rear passage; and a piston operable in said cylinder to circulate fluid through said ports, 'passages and reservoir..

3. In a fluid resistance door check adapted-- for insertion in a door frame, a shell having an interior fluid containing compartment and a filling chamber communicating therewith; a face plate; and screws extending through said face plate for securing said shell thereto, one of said screws extending into said filling chamber and forming a removable closure therefor.

4. In a fluid resistance'door check adapted for insertion in a door frame, a shell having an interior fluid containing compartment and a filling chamber communicating therewith; a face late; and screws extending through said ace plate for securing lsaid shell thereto, one of said screws having a. vent aperture formed through it, and said apertured screw extending into said lling chamner to form a vented removable closure there- In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HUBERT MCL. ARMISTEAD. 

